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Re: rear brake pads advice Posted by Ari [Email] ![]() ![]() In Reply to: rear brake pads advice, Bob G, Wed, 23 Jun 2004 10:43:43 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
Procedure is pretty straightforward-
Lift and secure car with jackstands, remove wheels (Yeah, I had to say it).
Remove the parking brake cables - drop the parking brake handle inside the car, and squeeze the lever on the back of the caliper to give yourself some slack.
As the others have implied, look for a hex nut on the backside of the caliper. Remove it, and you'll find an allen behind it. Turn the allen (I can never remember which way) to back the piston away, releasing the pads. If it tightens up the pads, turn the other way. Back it out until it starts to give you some resistance. The piston face should be pretty flush with the caliper. Pop off the anti-rattle spring. Remove the two bolts holding the caliper to the hub assembly, and lift away. Avoid stressing the hose or ABS sensor cable. Pop out old pads, clean the piston area of rust and dirt, and pop in new pads. If you've backed the piston out enough, it'll just slide on. Tighen the two mounting bolts. Reinstall the anti-rattle spring. Turn the allen until the pads start to touch the rotor, then back it out about 1/2 turn or so. The rotor should turn freely, with little if any drag from the pads. Reinstall the parking brake cables.
To check parking brake operation, the wheels should turn without drag with the brake off. A minor scraping is OK, just no drag. This is easier to do with the wheels on, as turning the hub isn't easy at the best of times. With the parking brake pulled up, it should be damn near impossible to turn the wheels. If the brake isn't properly adjusted, remove the trim from around the parking brake handle (look for the secret screw at the front of the cover with the brushes on it, just under the handle, facing straight forward.). At the back of the brake handle there are two nuts, with a screw on top. To tighten things up, hold the center part steady with a screwdriver, and tighten (clockwise) the nut. Too much drag with the brake off? Loosen the nut. Don't allow the cable to turn with the nut. Not only won't it do any adjusting, but it'll twist the cable.
That's it. Yes, brakes are critical, but it's very, very hard to screw this up. There is no magic here. As long as you don't do something pretty dumb, like forgetting to tighten (heck forgetting to reinstall) the mounting bolts, or you treat the hydraulic hose like a bungee, you'll be fine.
As to pads - you're always safe with what you can get from the dealer. Expensive, but safe. For rears, I get the usual replacement brand (no idea of the name) from the local autoparts store. Yeah, that's not very technical, but it works fine.
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